Behind the Mask
by fluidity.on.paper
Summary: Raven must cope with the trivial nature of living with her fellow titans. When one titan begins to become 'closer' to her than ever before, how will she react? Raven x Robin. Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. **Finally updating again!**
1. Thunderstorm

Raven sat and watched the rain cascade down her window from inside of her dark room. Her mind was at peace, and she was able to stand and watch the storm with no troubles forefront in her mind. She unmindfully let a brief sigh escape her lips.

_One could watch a storm like this for hours _she mused to herself. As she pressed her figers to the glass, the heat escaped her fingertips and formed a delicate layer of fog on the window. Even watching the opaque white spread across the glass was enough to attract her gaze. As a flash of lightning erupted nearby, a reflection of a figure on the window caught her attention, and she whipped around to glare at the intruder.

Leaning in the doorway was none other than the Boy Wonder, carrying a questioning expression on his face.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned.

"Nothing much. Just the same as you, watching the strom I guess".

"How long have you been there?" she asked tentatively.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Long enough."

Raven flushed. She pulled her hood up with haste to disguise the evidence. Just how long _had_ he been there? She walked over to the couch, and picked up her book, and plopped down on the couch. He wouldn't distract her. She had a good book to get back to, after all. With theatrical purposefulness, she opened the book and read.

"Is that my signal to leave?" he questioned.

"No. It's your signal to go do something besides stare at me."

"Well, then. Alright, I'll just sit and watch some TV..." he made his way over to the couch and sat beside her, "if you don't mind."

"It's your tower too. Do whatever you like." Her muscles tensed, and she channelled all her concentration towards the text in front of her.

With an exaggerated stretch, he put his feet up on the coffee table and picked up the remote. As he searched through the channels in a commonly male fashion, he took note of the glare aimed at him from over the book on Ancient Forms of Meditation. An easy smile teased the corner of his mouth, and he inwardly chuckled. Just a tester, he thought, as he inched his body closer to hers.

She stared in horror at the shrinking space acting as a buffer between Robin and herself. She couldn't just get up and walk away, that would be cowardly, and Robin would know that he got the best of her. She just continued to stare at the shrinking amount of couch until his arm was actually touching her thigh. Panic rolled through her system. It was like a physical shock, like nothing she had ever felt before.

The air around them seemed to get heavy and increasingly warm. Several things around the room started to rattle. Not two seconds after the initial contact, the room went black. The power had surged.

Oh my God, she thought, it's happened again! What kind of freak am I? What will he think of me? Thoughts and worries raced through her head; it felt like there were a handful of marbles rolling around, non-stop. She couldn't think of anything better to do than escape, so she fleed the scene as stealthily as a cat. I dont think he's noticed that I'm gone yet, she told herself.

What the hell happened? he wondered. It didn't take him long to notice that Raven had disappeared, but he still didn't draw any conclusions. It wasn't until the hum of the generator kicking in that he realized that it was Raven's powers that had caused the blackout. She was usually in perfect control of her powers, she thought. But now, he made her lose control. He smirked at the thought, he had finally made her lose her unflappable control.


	2. Sunrise

In the safety of her room, Raven took a few steadying breaths. She needed to calm down, to regain control. She was standing with her back against the wall, and slowly slid down to sit on the cool floor. It gave her something else to think about, the cold. As she sat there in silence, 'normal' thoughts and common sense seemed to regain control. Ususally her control was concrete, but it flew apart back there. What happened? He touched me, she thought. He made physical contact, that's what happened.

It used to be that everyone left her alone, for the most part. Well, with the exception of Beast Boy, but he never left anyone alone. Starfire would just hang off of Robin and enjoy the normal girlie-type aspects of life, Cyborg would just go tinker in the shop and Robin... Robin just never really noticed her. The best conclusion she could draw from the experience was that is was a joke. That had to be it. Some sort of sick experiment to see who could make Raven blow a fuse first. Well, Robin won that round, she mused, but it was _never_ going to happen again.

The next morning, Raven put on a brave face and went to the kitchen. She was just going to get a cup of tea and then scurry to the safety of the roof and read, while watching the sunrise. As she took a few tentative steps down the hallway and peeked around the corner into the kitchen, she judged that it was safe to enter. So far so good. She shouldn't be so paranoid, she thought, nobody ever gets up this early anyways. As she set the teabag into the boiling water, she grabbed her book and set off up the stairs.

This was just what she needed. The atmosphere would be perfect, the book would be perfect, and the tea would be perfect. Her perfect little world of solitude lay just a few steps away as she neared the top of the stairs. She opened the door to the roof with a slight smile on her face. Oh yes, she was going to really enjoy this. Upon stepping out into the orange light of sunrise, she stopped dead in her tracks. Now she knew that she should have just stayed in her room, like she had been wanting to do before. She quietly drew in a deep breath and turned around, preparing for a quick retreat.

"Don't go."

She hesitated. Every muscle in her body tensed. "You heard me, did you?"

"Not really. Just a lucky guess, for the most part. You should come sit down, watch the sunrise with me."

"Sunrises are overrated nowadays." And with that, she lifted her chin, and stalked back towards the stairs. As soon as she got past the threshold of the door, she teleported herself to her room. She wasn't in the mood for another confrontation of any sort. She immediately cursed herself for being such a coward, and plunked down on her bed, book open.

It was late afternoon now, and Robin was just finished his training for the day, and he was headed up to the communal bathroom for a shower. Wiping his sweaty face with the towel, he stopped when he saw Starfire having a very animated conversation with a very annoyed (but hiding it rather well) Raven.

"You simply _must_ come to the mall of shopping with me! You can help me purchase the latest earthly trends and help me get my 'fash' on!" Starfire pleaded. If worse came to worse, she would have to use the big eyes of sadness to win her way. The odds were steadily increasing.

"Starfire, you probably know more, and care more, for that matter, about 'fashion' than I do. And besides, I've seen your closet, there is no way you are in need of any new attire already." Raven's voice was cracking. She was breaking down to Starfire's unearthly charms before usual... What was happening to her?

"Oh, Raven, you should go with Starfire to the mall. You could get yourself a new book or something. While your at it, you should get yourself a nice new outfit for the formal dinner at the Jump City Hall next saturday." Robin offered. Already, the expression of loathing on Raven's face was amusing him.

"I really don't think that's necessary..." Raven started.

"Oh! That is a wonderful idea, friend Robin!" Starfire squealed. "Why do not you come with us, as well?" Her face lit with her innocent hopes.

"Hmmmm, I have nothing better to do, Starfire, I think I will. Besides, it'll be good to get out of the tower for a while." He continued on his way to the bathroom, but stopped on the edge of the hallway. "Will you girls be ready in 15 minutes?" he asked. Starfire's squeal was answer enough, but Robin was curious to see as to whether Raven would actually agree. He turned on his heel and went on without a backward glance, purposely leaving Raven without a chance to decline.


	3. The Perfect Outfit

Sitting in the food court of the mall, Raven could only imagine what had possessed her to willingly (ish) come to the mall with Starfire and Robin. He was smirking at her over his sushi. He thinks he's won, she thought. Well, we'll have to change that. He'll get what's coming to him soon enough, I'll make sure of that. Raven took another sip of her iced herbal tea and smiled at her own thoughts.

"What are you smiling about, Raven?" Robin asked, genuinely confused.

"Mmmm, nothing of any interest to you," she retorted. Their conversation was interrupted as Starfire walked gleefully over to their table with a tray covered with french fries, ceasar salad, ginger beef, and of course, gobs of mustard.

"Friends! This is a joyous occassion! Eating at the court of food before shopping! I simply cannot wait to purchase more clothing!"

"We know, Starfire." the two birds answered in unison.

Starfire gave them a brief, confused look, shrugged, and started shovelling the contents of her tray into her mouth.

Sitting at the end of the hallway in the portion of the store where the dressing rooms were, Raven prayed for the day to end soon. Starfire had spent over half an hour in the last store, and this one was surely not going to be any different. Raven watched as radom bits of clothing came flying her direction out of Starfire's dressing room. She rolled her eyes at the typical dressing frenzy of the alien girl.

"Why aren't you trying anything on?" Robin questioned.

Raven started a little. "Becase I didn't want to be here. That's why."

Robin looked at her for a second, guesstimating her sizes. God, he thought, she's tiny! He gave her a brief smile and walked back out to the retail portion of the store.

When he returned a few minutes later, he had a sneaky smirk on his face, and held out a hand-picked (by him) ensamble for her to try on.

"What is this?" she asked, a tone of annoyance in her voice.

"Last time I checked, these were called clothes. They're for you to try on." he answered, simply.

"No."

He was a bit taken aback by her quick answer, but he recovered quickly. "I am telling you, as your leader, to try it on."

Raven did her best attempt (which is damn near perfect) to give him a death glare, and snatched the hangers out of his hand. She gave him one last look of loathing over her shoulder, and stormed into a nearby changeroom.

So, lets see what the Boy Blunder picked out for me, she thought to herself. It was probably the skimpiest thing in the store, if he was anything like every other male on the planet. She picked up the first hanger and was quite surprised to find a dark blue tank top with sequens on the top and bottom. Okay, so he passed the test this time, she admitted to herself. As she inspected the other items, she was again mildly surprised to find black, bootcut jeans, a glittery balck belt, and a wonderful cropped hoodie in a shade of indigo. Wow. She admired herself in the mirror. This all fits me perfectly. How did he do it?

"Well, are you coming out or what?" Robin's slightly impatient voice carried into her dressing room.

"I suppose so. But you can lauhg," she added hurriedly.

"Why would I do something like..."Robin stopped midsentence as Raven walked shyly out of the dressing room. He was right, the outfit did look spectacular on her. It was form fitting, but it had a modesty to it that suited Raven. His mouth went dry for a minute while he searched his scrambled brain for the right words.

"Well?" Raven asked, a slightly worried expression on her face.

"Oh! Uhhh, it looks really good," Robin admitted, the easy smile returning once again to his face.

"That's nice. I'm going to change back into _my _clothes now, if you don't mind."

"Sure thing. I think Starfire is about ready to go now, so I'll see you out in the store."

"Uh huh." Raven hurried back into the changeroom to change, and scurried out with the clothes. It had been really uncomfortable standing in front of him in clothes that _he_ picked out for her, even if they looked really, really good. If she could just sneak up to the cashier to buy the outfit plus a few other little something that she needed...

"Friend Raven! You are going to purchase some clothing as well?"

"Uh, yeah sure Starfire. I'll meet you and Robin out at the T-Car, okay?"

"Sure thing, friend! I cannot wait to show the others the purchases I have made!" Starfire raced out of the store, beaming all the way.

"Oh God. If anybody saw these... I don't even want to think about it." Raven breathed out a sigh of relief. After paying for her stuff, she made her way outside to where her teammates were waiting. "Can we go now?"

"In a hurry, Raven?" Robin raised his brows.

"No, no, it's just that I'm kind of tired from shopping at Starfire's frantic pace, that's all..." Raven averted her eyed. He would know she was lying through her teeth if she made eye contact. He was good that way. The sooner they got home, the sooner she would get out of this uncomfortable situation.

"Fine, then. Let's go Starfire."

"Yay! You should see all the purchases from the fine stores I have made! They are simply... EXQUISITE!" Starfire shrieked. As per usual, she hopped in the front seat beside Robin, while Raven got the back, all to herself.

The ride home was filled with Starfire's delighted chit chatter and Robin's feigned interest. Raven just stayed silent, like always. The 10 minute drive seemed to stretch on for ages to Raven. She tried to distract herself by looking at the scenery whizzing past through the windows, but it didn't help. She just needed to get back into the tower, into the safety of her room, and quickly put away what she had bought before anybody questioned anything.

Oh God, why did she ever agree to go on that trip?

AN: So, how is my first fanfic turning out so far? Hopefully it's not as filled with grammatical and spelling errors as some on this site seem to be -.-"

Anyways, a friendly review or constructive criticism are always welcome!


	4. Time to Model!

Raven didn't even wait for the car to stop before transporting herself to her room. She quickly searched through the bags, grabbed the offending purchases, and stuffed them in her 'secret' drawer. Immediately, she felt the stress and tenseness leave her body. She took a few steadying breaths and then headed out of her room, towards the living room where undoubtedly Starfire was displaying her spoils to the rest of the team.

As Raven neared the kitchen, she could already detect Starfire's excited babble. Oh, I do not pity the fools who must sit through a presentation like that, she thought to herself. I'll just walk through, quickly grab my book, and go back to my room, and nobody will notice. I hope.

She dashed across the hall, and behind the couch. So far so good. If I can just get past the chair...

"Raven! You are joining me in the showing of purchases?"

Raven quickly tensed and straightened. Damn! She had been spotted! "Uh, not really. I don't want to waste any of their time, I'll just grab my book and go..." God, she hoped her excuse would work.

"I think you should show the rest of us what _you_ bought, Raven. Better yet, why don't you try it on? Starfire will too, I'm sure."

"Robin, stop now or I'll put a curse on you that will-"

Raven's coice got cut off as she was abruptly gradded around the middle by a very happy Starfire and carried down towards the hall. A death glare will have to do for now, Boy Blunder, but trust me, you have to sleep sometime... A smile spread across her lips as she thought of all the things she could do to him. Oh yes, he would pay for this, indeed.

The three male members of the team were spewn across the room. Cyborg on the couch, Beastboy on the floor, and Robin leaning against the wall in the corner. After a tremendous video game competition between Beastboy and Cyborg, the living room was a mess. Robin would have to get after them to clean it up, pronto.

"So, did Raven _really _buy something?" Beastboy wanted to know.

"As far as I know," Robin replied. "She had a shopping bag, so you could safely assume so."

"What was in the bag?" Beastboy pressed, in his annoying, pestering tone.

"We'll just have to see now, wont we." Robin answered simply. Cyborg rolled his eyes at this, and stretched out even more on the couch.

The boys' conversation was stopped as Starfire flew into the room, decked out in a lime green top that showed her midriff (as per usual), a short, _short_ denim skirt, knee-high leather boots, and a tiara. Robin looked questioningly at this. It was, he thought, better not to put too much thought into the wardrobe choices of an alien. Come to think of it, the ensemble looked remarkably like her usual outfit...

All thoughts of the males were shattered as Raven walked in, a tormented look on her face. She looked very annoyed. She actually bought the outfit I picked for her! Robin thought, while giving himself a mental pat on the back. He was totally right in picking those colours for her.

Starfire did a few twirls and swishes around the room, but it didn't work like it usually did on any of the boys. Perhaps it is my hair, she thought. She was immediately overcome with jealousy when she saw where all the stares were directed. She quickly lept into flight and dragged a baffled Raven -who had been standing shyly in the doorway- back towards her bedroom quarters. "There," she stated. "Now the boys have seen my new outfit. I'm sorry that they must stare at you that way, it must have made you terribly uncomfortable. I'll make sure to tell them never to do it again."

"Actually,"

"No excuses. It was simply... horrible of them to do that!" And with that, Starfire rushed out of Raven's room, leaving Raven behind to change back into her normal uniform.

It was funny, Raven thought as she peeled off the skin-tight pants, having the guys look at her that way actually gave her a sense of power. But Robin, he didn't drool or anything, he just looked at me with that damned smug look on his face!

Something hurdled across the room. Raven closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Down girl, she thought. He'll get his just deserts tonight, when he's _just_ about to fall asleep.

Raven cheered up immensely after that thought.

AN: Okay, chapter 4 done. I'll try to put up _two_ new chapters each time I update, so it will make it a little more worthwhile. The lack of a 'tab' funtion on this site annoys me. Is there really not an easy way to indent the first line of a paragraph, or am I just too stupid to find it? Meh. Such as life.

I am choosing not to do chapter summaries, because I feel that they distract from the plot, and people could miss something important if they just skim the summaries. So, you must suffer without them, to those of you who are accustomed to seeing them.


	5. Whipped Cream and It's Many Uses

One look at the clock in her room told Raven that it was time to carry out with her master plan. Usually, she wasn't one for plots of revenge like this, but this was a special circumstance. If she didn't get back at that dastardly Robin now, she never would. She was actually, for the first time in a loong time, nervous. She had to get a hold of herself. Nerves lead to fear, and fear makes us do stupid things, she reminded herself.

She quietly walked out of her room and into the kitchen. She grabbed the whipped cream from the fridge, and a feather from the latest do-it-yourself craft Starfire had brought home. Strange, she thought, the colourful creation actually looked better without the feather poking out from the forehead of the dog...thing. Whatever it was, it had been improved drastically.

As she stood on the outside of Robin's door, she took a deep breath to steady herself. It's now or never, she thought. She closed her eyes, held her breath, and walked through the door. Ha! She smirked, who needed to know the code when you could just walk through walls?

Walking towards him, she felt her face begin to flush, and her heart rate quickened. He looked so peaceful, for now, but that would soon change. Getting closer, she noticed his handsome features, totally relaxed in sleep. Usually, he looked so tense. Another glance told her he slept with his mask on... What the hell???? What kind of person sleeps like that?

She carefully took his hand out from the covers, and ducked beside the bed, should he wake up. She twitched slightly as he made a noise and turned his head in his sleep. Another deep breath and she was ready to go. She dolloped a bit of whipped cream onto his hand, and then watched to see if he stirred. After he remained motionless, she added a bit more, then moved moreso towards the head of the bed. She carefully started to rub his nose with the feather, and became amused as he started to twitch. She started to goggle softly. Whoever came up with this was a genious, she thought. Absolute genious. Another soft chuckle escaped her, and she tried to muffle it without much success.

WHAP! She lept backwards from the shock of the impact. Her eyes wide saucers and her mouth open to match. A glob of whipped cream fell off her chin and onto her leg. She looked on in horror, towards a now fully awake Robin.

"Nice try, Raven, but next time try not to laugh."

"Oh my God," Raven whispered. She was still to shocked to move. Slowly, the embarrassment started to seep in, and she could have sworn her face had melted off all the whipped cream. When she saw Robin stand to his feet (Oh God! He was wearing nothing but boxers! Avert eyes! Avert eyes!) she hurriedly rose and backed against the nearest wall.

When Robin began to laugh quietly, her senses started to come back to her. She had to keep calm. We don't need another power surge to top things off. He walked towards her and placed his hands on either side of her head against the wall, pinning her (for the most part) in place.

"Jeez, Raven. This isn't like you. I was totally expecting someone like Beastboy when I heard the whipped cream dispenser. This is a new one. So, why'd you come here?"

"To get back at you, you stupid bastard! You're always so godamn smug! You're-"

"Why did you _really_ come here?"

"W-What?"

"You heard me." His face was a whisper away from hers now, and he was looking straight into her eyes.

"That's it! I swear! I'm not some pervert who came to see you naked in your sleep or anything like that, honest! It was just a dumb juvenile prank! I didn't mean anything by it!"

He didn't bother to answer. He just looked at her through that mysterious mask of his, and began to move his face closer still to hers, turning it slightly. Oh God! He was going to kiss her, she thought. Her breath quickened, and she managed one last look into his eyes before she became one with the wall behind her, eluding his approach.


	6. Kiss It Better

Robin woke up early, as per usual, and headed straight to the gym. He had a few things he needed to work out in his head, and good, hard exercise was just the way to do that. He'd go for a run-through of the newest training course that Cyborg had finished yesterday. Give it a good test.

As he continued to program the computer to his settings, a face kept flashing into his thoughts, interrupting them. It was Raven's face. It was funny, he thought, that he had never really thought to get to know her better. If he ahd tried harder before, perhaps there wouldn't be the barrier between them. Raven was used to being the last of Robin's worries. Now, she went skittish on him whenever he took interest. It was, he decided, his fault that getting to know her now was so much harder than it could have been.

He finished programming the computer and got ready for the first surprise of the day. As he was standing, waiting, his thoughts strayed back to Raven. It was then that the sandbag decided to drop square on his head. Robin squeezed his eyes shut, cursing himself for losing focus. He got up again, determined not to let this course get the better of him.

He delivered a swift kick that broke the next sandbag. Sand spewed all over the floor, and drew his attention. It was funny how something so fine could give you such a whallop. He barely dodged the next one, which came hurdling at him from behind one of the rafters in the ceiling. Jesus! He really needed to pay more attention.

He knealt to get a better look at these new sandbags Cyborg had ordered. Their colour resembled that of a certain titan's skin... over her beautiful face, her gentle but thourough hands, those legs that went of forever...

The sound alerted him of another oncoming obstacle. He lept out of the way just in time to avoid having his arm chopped off at the elbow. He looked on in horror as the saw blade whizzed past him and stuck in the wall ahead. He decided that in his current state, it would be best for him to stop attempting to focus, and for him to relax (for once) and try to sort out his feelings before he did anything rash.

As he terminated the power to the course, he noticed a trail of blood making it's way down to his fingers on the back of his hand. Damn, that blade had actually got him. At closer inspection to his upper arm, he noticed that it had sliced through a good portion of the sleeve of the t-shirt he had been wearing. He took off his now blood-sodden shirt, and headed to the bathroom to try and wash off the majority of the blood.

At the sink, he watched as the pink fluid ran down the drain. It mezmorized him, and he couldn't tear his gaze away. When a certain raven-haired titan walked past and noticed, he turned to look at the source of the footsteps. A small gasp escaped from Raven's lips as she noticed his current misfortune. He smirked, "It's nothing big. I'll just put some antiseptic on it, and it'll be fine."

"You stupid boy! You could get a serious infection! Here, let me..."

Robin only just fought the urge to pull his arm away from her grasp. This strangely reminded him of what his mother used to do.

"Here, let me heal it for you. You'll have a bit off a scar, but that should disappear in a few days." She wasn't looking at _him_ when she was talking, her gaze was focused totally on his wound.

"No. Don't touch it! It'll hurt!"

She fixed him with a steely glare. "You've got to be kidding me. The infamous Boy Wonder, scared of the big bad Raven's healing powers?"

"Well..." He didn't get another word out before she used to powers to heal the wound. God! She might as well have cauterized it, for the amount of pain that caused! He couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath between his teeth. "Ow!"

"Baby," she teased.

"Just a little. Kiss it better?" He looked at her with hopeful eyes.

It took a moment to register what he said, then she quickly gave him a confused look. Well, I suppose it's the least I could do, she thought. She leaned forward slightly, preparing to kis his arm, until he stopped her with a hand under her chin.

"Not there," he said. There was no more joking tone in his voice now. This was something she couldn't recognize, and he was looking straight into her eyes. He touched his lips, briefly. "Here."

Heat swam into her cheeks. Thoughts were racing through her head at a million miles a second. She was hesitating, and she was desperately trying to stall. He didn't give her the chance.

With the hand he had under her chin, he tipped her face up and bent down to take what he thought he deserved.


	7. I need time to think

Sorry the update took so long, but I'm really busy these days, thanks to gymnastics, and lack of internet at home. :(

Anyways, thanks to all who have reviewed, I greatly appreciate your support. The next update will be coming sometime later this week, when I finishe writing it... heh heh heh.

It felt like her whole world came crashing down. No longer was there a floor beneath her feet, there was nothing but her and Robin. His lips seemed to sear on her own, leaving a trail of fire wherever they touched. His hands moved to the back of her head, as if to pull her even closer still.

As he eased back, his gaze immediately went to her eyes. He was searching for her reaction, and so far he wasn't getting much more than wide eyes and a gaping mouth. "Say something," Robin's tone was almost pleading.

"I- I..." she was having trouble coming up with the right words; _any_ words.

"Oh my God. Raven, I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me, I just kind of...I just kind of let go, for once," his hands dropped to his sides. His gaze was still searching hers for any kind of reassurance.

"Robin... I can't think straight right now. You seem to be having that effect on me lately. I should really go, before something bad happens," and she started to back out of the bathroom, slowly.

"Raven, just do me a favor. I know this seems really sudden, but please, just try to think about what I mean to you... _please_."

"I can't, Robin, I just can't," tears sprung to her eyes and she fled before the flood came.

"Ooooh, perfect target," Beastboy muttered, under his breath, as he watched Raven hurry down the hallway. He quickly bundled up his socks and took aim. This was going to be totally awesome. "Ready... Aim... Fire!"

Beastboy never knew what hit him. Raven didn't even so much as turn around, but the sock-ball came hurdling back towards Beastboy at a speed resembling mach 5. It knocked him clear off his feet, and at least a few yards back. By the time the pretty little birds twittering around his head had cleared away, Raven was nowhere in sight. "Whoa, dude. She's finally gone off the deep-end," he rubbed the side of his head. He was going to have a MAJOR headache.

As he walked into the kitchen, he noted his other titans. Starfire, as per usual, was eating mass quantities of nustard, although it looked like there were several pieces of bacon under the slopping mess. Cyborg was taking apart the coffee machine, claiming that it had to be upgraded to become more efficient, and Robin was sitting, arms crossed, and brooding. "Dude, what's with you?"

Robin sent him a scathing glare.

"Ooookay then..." He diverted his attention to Cyborg. "Betcha I can beat you at stank-ball!"

Cyborg looked at him with a raised brow. "Seriously, dude, you couldn't beat a three-year-old girl. Admit defeat before you get in above your head."

"Nah. Let's go!"

As Cyborg and Beastboy rushed out, Robin glared after them. What was Raven's problem? She wouldn't even give me a chance. _I laid it all out for her, and she pretty much stepped on it and smothered it on the ground_. Robin stood up abruptly (causing Starfire's glob of mustard to drop off her fork) from the table, and stormed out of the room. He needed some air.

As he looked over the ocean, he began to feel some of his tension ease away. He picked up a rock and hurled it as far as he could into the gossamer surface of the water. The small splash gave him a small degree of purely male satisfaction. As the sun beat down upon him, he stood there, brooding over his problems. All of which revolved around one female. Typical. All of man's problems stemmed from the same source, didn't they?

Meanwhile, Raven was up in her room, desperately searching her head for answers. She needed to find a solution, and fast, or things were going to continue to spiral out of control. She started towards the door of her room; she was going to take a walk to clear her head. See what the civilians were up to. Maybe she would get some insight into how _normal_ teenagers handled this sort of thing.


	8. A Deeper Look At Thyself

With her hands in her hoodie pockets, Raven walked down Main Street with her head down. How can people live like this? she thought. Life in the city is so hectic, if it weren't for the privacy of hte tower, she would have gone insane. She hopped out of the way of a child rushing past on a bicycle. Shaking her head, she continued on.

She could see the park just up ahead. The abrupt change from busy city streets to green grass and huge oak trees never ceased to amaze her. It was funny, really, how many people chose not to take time out of their lives to unwind and relax, even though the opportunity was right there in front of them.

Walking down the park's gravel path, she spotted a bench and sat down, under the shade of one of the many majestic oaks. Taking a deep breath in, and exhaling it, along with all the things troubling her mind. Her eyes closed, she began to enjoy the parks sounds. Chilren's laughter, a dog's excited barking, the chirping of birds, and the buzz of bees around her were somehow soothing. One of her eyes opened slightly as she sensed something nearby. She turned around and looked past the back of her bench to the couple sitting a couple hundred feet behind, on a brightly-coloured blanket spread across the emerald grass.

That's what she had picked up on; their love for one another. She watched on as they talked quietly among themselves, holding hands the whole time. The boy leaned forward and touched his lips briefly to the girl's forehead, and smiled. The girl let out a little giggle, and returned the kiss to the boy's lips. They looked so happy together. They were so at ease, they didn't seem to care that anyone else could have been watching; watching and judging.

Is that what is bothering me, lately? Raven pondered to herself. I'm scared of people judging me, of what they might think about me. I was lucky enough for them to accept me, back at the tower, but what are they really thinking about me when I'm not around? Perhaps they seem to avoid me because of what I am... a demon.

She stood up and started back towards the tower at a run. She wasn't usually one for exercise to this extent -okay, actually, she was _never_ one for exercise like this- but it felt like the right thing to do. The physical pain would distract her from something worse- self doubt. When she reached the shore, she stopped on the beach and looked back towards the tower, the sun setting behind it. She was, without a doubt, more sweaty and grimy than she had ever been before in her life, but it felt good. It felt good to have worked off that extra stress. She threw a few quick glances behind her to make sure nobody was watching, and slowly began to rise off the ground. What she needed was answers, and she was not going to stall any longer.

"Starfire, I need to talk to you."

Starfire glanced at her quizzically. "Is something wrong, Raven? You are not usually open to the talking,"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Starfire. I just need a few questions answered, that's all," Raven looked toward the ground, and sat on the window ledge, with her back resting against the window, orange light pouring through behind her.

"Oh, I would be happy to answer the questions you ask!" Starfire exclaimed gleefully. She lept over near Raven and folded her legs clumsily as she sat on the floor across from Raven.

Raven blew air out quickly. "Okay, first things first, you would say, Starfire, that I am a person you would classify as a friend, right?"

"Yes," Starfire nodded.

"Am I the type of person you would be friends with in spite of the whole living situation, waht with sharing the tower and all?"

"Of course, Raven."

"Does it bother you that I am part demon?" Raven aimed an observing look at Starfire's face.

"No!" Starfire practically shouted. "Raven, you are nothing like the demons I read about in the book of pictures! You look nothing like on of those ugly beings! In fact, they resemble a Snorgflact-"

"Okay. I get it. I need you to be very, _very _honest when you answer this question. Do you understand?" Raven looked very serious now.

Starfire's only response was to nod, slowly.

"How do you think of me, when I'm not around?"

Starfire looked skyward for a moment, as if considering her answer. "I think, friend Raven, that you are a serious person, but also very determined. You say that you are a bad person often, but I have never thought that. I don't think of any of my friends as 'bad' people. You are who you are, and that's all anyone has come to expect from you."

Raven stared, dumbstruck. Had that all just come out of Starfire's mouth?

"You are one of my favorite people, Raven! I pick up on things, here on Earth. Pee-ers really admire you. It makes me feel good when I think about what a good best friend I have."

"Peers, Starfire. And hey, thanks a lot, I guess." Raven let a brief smile cross her face. She stood upright and started towards Beastboy's room, where he was undoubtedly playing Space Creatures. He was certainly a puzzlement. As she neared his door, she heard him shout "Bow down to me, you lowly space slug!" Raven knocked on the metal door, tentatively.

"Who dares to request my presence?" Beastboy boomed in an unnaturally low voice.

"Ummm, it's Raven. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

The door swung open. "Raven? You've, like, never ever come into my room before!"

"I know, but I have something I need to ask you."

Beastboy moved aside to allow Raven passage into his room. He watched as she looked for a decent place to sit, but decided to stand instead. "What d'ya wanna know?"

"Ummm, does it bother you that I'm part demon?" Her gaze dropped to the floor. God! His room was disgusting! It should be condemned. She looked in dismay at the socks, action figures, and..._underwear_ strewn across the floor. Who knows how long that stuff has been on the floor.

He looked taken aback by her question. "Uhhhh, well, not really. I mean, you can get kinda scary sometimes, with the red eyes and all-" he gestured wildly with his arms, resembling zobie-like motions, "-but it's not like you ever take that out on your friends. I mean, I might get a death glare from you whenever I tell a joke that's like, 'bad', but... I DON'T KNOW! God, you always ask these... hard questions that require waaay too much thinking. All I know is that you are who you are, and that's why we all respect you. You just do your own thing, like everybody else on the team. Is that a good answer?"

"Y-yeah. Thank you for your input." She walked carefully out of his room, taking care not to step on any underwear, or Wolverine action figures. As she shut the door behind her, she heard Beastboy resume his solitary game. ("I said bow down, evil space slug! You heard me! Obey me before I zap you with my Megablaster!")

Two down, she murmured quietly, one to go.

As she entered the garage, she lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the bright sparks flying out from under the T-car. "Ummm, Cyborg? Can I-"

"Hand me a 3/16 wrench, will you?"

_What? _"Uh, sure," Raven grabbed the first silver object that she thought looked like a wrench she saw, and handed it to him.

"Thanks. I need to..." He paused, and rolled out from under the car. "This isn't a 3/16! This is a 9/16!" When he spotted Raven, he added "Oh, it's you. What do you need?"

"I need a question answered, actually." Her tone was level, and cool.

"Uh, sure. Y'all will have to wait if it's the coffee-maker again, 'cuz my baby here takes priority."

"It's not the coffee maker," she replied monotonely. After a brief pause, she rushed on, "Does it bother you that I'm part demon?"

"What?!? What kind of piece of shit question is that, Raven? I was expecting something more like 'Could you build me a solarium for my rare Azarathian flowers?'"

"I don't grow flowers."

"I know, but that's not the point. The point is, is that it was a really stupid question. Does it bother _you_ that I'm 75 metal?" he asked pointedly.

"No, of course not Cyborg! I don't think of you any different than I would anyone else! Besides, it's whats on the inside that counts. What you are, physically, has nothing to do with the type of person you really are." She stopped, realizing that she just got the answer that she needed.

Cyborg raised a brow and smirked. "Damn, I'm good."

"Yeah," she smiled a little, "you are. Thanks, Cyborg."

After Raven walked out, Cyborg shook his head and went back to work under the T-car. "That girl expects too much of herself, sometimes. She'll just have to learn to start accepting herself."

Sitting in her room, looking out towards the sea, she considered what she had learned that day. Looking out towards the stars blinking silently out in the distance, she couldn't help but start to really reconsider her previous personal image. There was no need to fear judgement from her friends. They accepted her, no matter what she was, demon or not.

This will be the last update until next week, as I have a competition to go to. I made it fairly long, hopefully to tide you over until we meet again. The point I was trying to get across in this chapter, really, was that we (as a civilization (in North America)) need to stop holding back from what we could be, just from fear of judgement. I know that I need to do that. Self-doubt is the most powerful block for me, personally. With gymnastics, I always fear that I'm going to crash a routine or disappoint my coach. But that just makes me nervous, which makes me (guess) crash the routine.


	9. Self Confessions

The next morning, Raven awoke a little later than usual. She was surprised at how restful her sleep had been. She stretched and swung her sleep-heavy legs off the side of the bed. A brief look at her alarm clock told her it was just after 8:00.

She decided to go have a shower first thing, before her morning tea. No one but Robin should be up yet, she decided, so it was probably safe to make a quick dart through the hallways wrapped in just her towel. She snuck out of her room, making no sound other than her bare feet padding softly along the floor.

Looking behind her as she approached the bathroom door to make sure she was still unseen, she was caught off guard when a hand was already on the door knob under hers. She felt her heart stop and a small gasp escaped her lips. She mentally cursed herself as one of the hallway lights exploded and tiny glass shards rained down all over the hall floor. A light chuckle reminded her that she still had company to deal with, and she was very certain of who it was. She jerked her hand away.

Slowly, she turned her head to face the Boy Wonder. Heat swam to her cheeks as she realized that his only attire was also a towel. She ducked her head and let her hair cascade in front of her face to hide the evidence. As she was turning to take her leave, he spoke.

"Ladies first," he gestured grandly to the now open doorway.

"U-uhm…" she deliberated internally. She decided that taking him up on his offer would be the best way to both be rid of him and to relax a bit. "Thank you". She hurried into the bathroom through the doorway and roughly closed the door.

---

Robin heard the click of the lock as he turned back towards his bedroom. He took a deep, steadying breath. He shook his head, as if in attempt to dislodge the various unwanted and inappropriate mental images. He had told himself, since their last confrontation, that he would back off and leave Raven alone. What the hell had he been thinking, anyways? Why did he find himself so interested? He didn't need to try so hard, he decided. There were tons of girls who would willingly throw themselves at him- one of which was also a resident of this very tower- so he shouldn't bother with someone that obviously wanted nothing to do with him…. Right?

---

After her shower, Raven was indeed relaxed again. She had pushed this morning's events from her mind, concentrating instead on what she planned to do today; act like a normal teenager, one who wasn't afraid of judgment, one who trusted her friends. She wrapped her towel tightly around her torso, and phased back to her room. _Better to avoid another scene_, she decided. She quickly donned her uniform and brushed her tangled hair. A quick once-over in the mirror told her that there were no obvious appearance mishaps, and she walked out of her room.

Once in the kitchen, Raven found a mustard-eating Stafire and a zombie-like Beast Boy. She took a deep breath and plastered a (hopefully) sincere-looking smile on her face. "Hey, guys."

Both looked up, startled by her sudden appearance. She always made quiet entrances. Starfire smiled and went back to eating her waffles and mustard, and Beast Boy slowly shifted his eyes to her, jerked his head slightly, and then resumed staring at his plate of food. That was above average coherency for the changeling in the mornings, Raven noted, usually he just grunted or something along those lines.

Raven quietly went to the cupboard and began preparing herself a cup of tea. As she was stirring in her honey, she heard Robin make his entrance. Putting on a brave face, she wheeled around and smiled at him. "Would you like some, Robin?"

He looked up at her with a puzzled expression, and then shook his head. Noisily, he pulled a chair from the table and plunked down. He grabbed the newspaper and started rifling through the pages. He was looking for something to do, anything to get his mind off of a certain annoying, aloof empath. Something caught his eye as he was flipping through the announcements section. _**Grand Opening of Club Torino Tonight! **_He smirked. That's what he needed. To be surrounded by people, many of which intoxicated. He could go and let loose for a little while. The loud music and crowded room would be the ideal distraction. He tossed the newspaper onto the table and made a quick retreat to his room.

Raven was confused by Robin's actions. He hadn't even said a word to her. Comparing this morning's events to now revealed the huge contrast in his behaviour. This morning, he had seemed smug and nonchalant. Just now, he was quiet and moody, like he had been brooding over something. The only logical explanation she could come up with was that she had blatantly offended him in some way. Now she was determined to set things right.

_Fine_, she thought, _I'll even go out of my way to be nice to the Boy Blunder._ She decided that, if that was the case, she would need to go to her room to meditate and get herself under perfect control before she exploded another light bulb. Phasing back to her room, she remembered the mess of shattered glass out in the hall. She poked her head out the doorway and enveloped the mess in her aura, and then dropped it neatly into the waste bin.

---

After meditation, she walked out to the common room and was surprised to see that it was already dusk. _Crap_, she thought, _now I have to hunt him down separately to apologize for what I did to make him so moody._ She went up to the roof, and found no sign of him. She ventured down to the computer room; no Robin. She went to the training gym, and again, no Robin. She finally thought of one last place to look and walked briskly towards his bedroom, and then stood before his door for several minutes. _What am I waiting for?_ She argued with herself mentally briefly before purposefully putting her hand up and knocking on the thick door.

No answer. She tried again, knocking harder. No answer. She tried again, practically beating her fist against the metal. Still no answer. _Oh, for the love of Azarath…_ If she came to apologize, she was damn-well going to apologize. Raven was nothing if not committed to every endeavor. She phased through the door, and let her eyes adjust to the dark. Once able, she could see that the room was unoccupied, and Robin's uniform lay draped over a chair in the corner, sans the mask.

_So he left, did he?_ She mused. Fine_, I'll just give him an earful when he gets back._ She phased to the kitchen, she needed tea. She entered to find Starfire pacing back and forth, and carrying a befuddled expression. "What's wrong, Star?" she asked.

"Nobody knows where friend Robin went!" she wailed. "And he left his communicator on the couch…."

With a sigh, Raven leaned her hip against the table and placed her hand for support, right on top of the newspaper that Robin had been reading before his leave of absence. It lay open on what she assumed was the same page that he had left off reading. "Club Torino?" she questioned aloud.

"What about it?" asked Cyborg, who was leaning back dangerously far in the chair with his feet propped up on the table.

"Nothing" Raven quickly memorized the address, and left the kitchen in haste. Once in her bedroom, she began picking through the few civilian clothes she had in her closet. Upon closer inspection, she conceded- grudgingly- that the clothes Robin picked out for her were the most club-appropriate attire she owned. After she finished sliding into the form-fitting ensemble, she sat on the edge of her bed, preparing.

_Why am I going through with this? Oh right, because he's doing something stupid. He's going to be surrounded by big, burly drunk men who want to fight and prove their masculinity, and similarly intoxicated girls who would like nothing better to get a closer look at those muscles…_ She stopped her train of thought in its tracks. She had seen those muscles recently on a few occasions; his room, the bathroom, and then the hallway. She had to admit, if she had to look at someone that way, she would look at him. _Wait, why should I care about all of that? Am I worried about the famous Boy Wonder getting beat up by thugs? No. Am I worried about the throng of girls sure enough to be surrounding him, flirting with him, touching him?... Yes._

Her head snapped up. Was she actually… JEALOUS? She forced herself to take this seriously, and be honest with herself. When she thought back to those previous instances, what had she felt? She remembered the feeling of her heart skipping a beat, the heat rising to her cheeks, the butterflies dancing around in her abdomen. Suddenly she got a cold, sinking feeling deep in her core as realization hit. _I'm in love with him. I love the Boy Blunder._


End file.
